1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a grass catching bag mounting arrangement for a rotary lawn mower including a securing and release mechanism for the bag support which automatically interrupts the engine ignition and brakes the mower blade drive shaft when actuated to release the bag support member.
2. Background Art
In the art of rotary lawn mowers and the like there have been a number of devices developed for mounting on the mower to catch grass clippings and leaves to eliminate raking such debris after mowing the lawn. One type of device widely used comprises a flexible bag which is pervious to air and which is connected to a discharge chute of the mower blade housing for collecting grass, leaves and other debris entrained in the air stream generated by the rotating mower blade. A disadvantage of this type of bag is that it must be relatively ruggedly built to withstand continuous use and, in order to minimize the weight and bulk, is generally of inadequate capacity thereby requiring frequent operations to stop the mower, remove the bag, dump the contents collected from the bag to a trash receptacle and then replace the bag on the mower. Quite often such types of bags are also mounted on one side of the mower which limits the maneuverability of the mower in mowing next to shrubbery or structures.
There have also been efforts to develop mowers provided with disposable bags which are supported in a bag holder mounted rearwardly of the mower housing and having an upwardly facing inlet requiring a relatively long discharge chute from the mower housing with a substantial vertical run. Such arrangements have not been satisfactory in that the power and air velocity requirements sufficient to move the grass cuttings through the elongated discharge chute and a relatively small bag mouth are generally inadequate. Efforts to overcome the disadvantages of the previous described disposable bag type debris catching arrangements have also required in the type of apparatus which receives the discharge flow stream from the mower through a lateral chute. As previously mentioned this type of arrangement is not suitable in that even though the bag is mounted relatively close to the point of discharge of the stream of cuttings from the mower housing the maneuverability and ease of operation of the mower is inhibited by the laterally projecting bag and support structure therefore.
In power mowers provided with grass and leaf catching attachments it is also desirable to provide for mechanism for securing and releasing the bag or bag holder which is operable to minimize the chance of operator injury from mower and from the high velocity stream of cuttings and other debris by shutting down the mower engine or motor before the bag is removed from the mower.
It has also been determined that it is desirable to provide debris collection means for rotary power mowers and the like which is adapted to use conventional disposable bags of the type which are essentially standard commercial items, and also the type required by many municipalities for trash collection.
The present invention overcomes substantially all of the deficiencies of prior art apparatus in regard to the aforementioned problems as will be appreciated from the following summary and detailed description of the present invention.